


F A I R Y C O R E

by anyastasia



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: COLOR RIGHTS, Gen, Great Fairy AU, Legend is shirtless. this is canon, Linked Universe, Originally a LW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyastasia/pseuds/anyastasia
Summary: The Nine Great Fairies of Hyrule are scattered across space and time. A chance encounter for each throws all of them together in an unlikely and magical journey for answers.
Relationships: Sky/Sun (Linked Universe)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 140





	1. prologue

"Poppy, do you know any songs about fairies?"

Kass chuckled, shifting with his accordion. A few stray notes slipped out into the chilly night air. He sat with Kheel on Revali's Landing, looking out at the Hebra range as he played his accordion absentmindedly and his daughter silently bobbed along to the music.

"I know a few," he said. "More than a few. I've told you the stories about the Great Fairies across Hyrule, haven't I?"

Kheel nodded, entranced. She knew her father was going to tell him a good story this time.

"Legend says that there is a fifth Great Fairy in Hyrule," Kass sighed. The wind ruffled his feathers. "One on the Great Plateau. I may go in search of that fairy when I am on my travels."

"Oh, please take me with you!" Kheel begged, throwing her stubby wings around Kass. "I want to see the fairy!"

Kass laughed, peeling his daughter off of him to settle her in his lap. "There's a fairy much closer to Rito Village that you can see, from what I've gathered. But the Great Fairies have been locked away in flower buds for as long as anyone can remember."

"Are there any other stories about fairies you can tell me?" Kheel asked softly. Her dark eyes were huge with wonder.

Kass chuckled. "There are a few...would you like to hear them?"

"Oh, yes please!" Kheel squealed, bouncing up and down.

Kass clucked, raising his accordion. "The stories of the Nine Great Fairies...now that's a tale."


	2. chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky meets a new pilgrim.
> 
> Green finds out what Vio's been hiding.
> 
> Time accepts a terrible fate.
> 
> Wind escapes his fountain.

Sky was asleep. The bottom of his fountain was nice and cozy, covered with springy underwater mushrooms and laced with flowers. A blanket of woven flower petals was draped across his elegant frame, and bubbles floated up to the surface of the water as he breathed. The water around him sparkled, spiked with sugar, just how he liked it.

Sighing, Sky stretched out on his bed, reaching above his head as far as his finger would reach, and pointed his toes as he strained his legs. While cozy, his elegant little fountain could get cramped. Especially for his wings, magnificent red gossamer, which were almost always shoved and cramped against his back.

There was a  _ plunk _ as something hit the water and drifted down to the bottom, sinking like a rock. Sky mumbled in his sleep, sending ripples through the water as he lifted his hand to rub his eyes. Groggy with sleep, he sat up, stretching. His wings trembled behind him, cramped from sleeping so long.

Sky lazily paddled over to the thing that had interrupted his sleep. It was shiny, which caught his attention. Shiny and smooth. He blinked away his tiredness to get a better look at it.

_ A gold rupee! _

Sky felt the magic from the rupee surge through his veins, and he let the rupee's magic dissolve into the water, adding to the sugar magic. His wings shimmered with a newfound light, and the glowing mushrooms and flowers that covered the walls glowed more brightly.

Not just any normal Skyloftian citizen dropped a gold rupee into his fountain. Gold rupees were saved for offerings for ceremonies. Which meant Sky actually had to surface.

Sky grumbled a little, stretching his wings. He didn't like surfacing. The air up there was cold and the visitors always gawked at him. Nevertheless, he appreciated the gold rupee and the magic it gave him, so he fluttered his wings, and arrowed to the surface.

He burst from the water in a shower of brilliant sparkles, taking in a lungful of fresh air. He grasped the edge of the fountain and lowered himself halfway back down, so that only his torso stuck up from the water. His wings stretched wide, thankful for the extra space.

A girl stood on the steps to the fountain, dressed in a pink dress with a bundle of white in her arms. Sunflower hair was tied back from her face with ribbons, and her blue eyes stretched wide as he appeared. She stumbled back down a step, her mouth opening with a  _ pop _ .

"Oh," she gasped. Her fingers dug into the cloth she held.

Sky studied this new pilgrim carefully. There was something about her, something that he couldn't quite pin down. She was familiar. Though Sky had never seen this girl at his fountain before. He leaned on the lip of the fountain, gazing down at this curiosity before him.

The girl stood rigid, as if gaining confidence. She ducked her head. Her hands clutched the cloth so tightly that Sky was afraid she was going to tear holes into it.

"Great Fairy," she began. "My name is Zelda. I am going to be taking on the role of the goddess Hylia tomorrow in the Wing Ceremony. The customs of this ceremony require that I be cleansed by the waters of your fountain before I represent such a holy being."

_ That's where I've seen her before _ ! Sky realized.  _ She's a dead ringer for Hylia! My stars. She's gotten younger. And...so much more beautiful. Her voice... _

Sky couldn't tear his eyes away from the girl. Her tone was sure and true, though she seemed to be nervous about the interaction. Her feet scuffed anxiously against the stone.

Sky’s heart thumped over and over in his chest, and he felt his face get uncomfortably hot. His nails dug into the marble wall of the fountain. Whatever this feeling was, Sky had never felt this way about a visitor. He wanted to snatch her up in his hands and drag her back down to the depths of his fountain. His fingers twitched dangerously. His wings stirred the shimmering water.

_ No, she can’t breathe down there. I can’t have her yet.  _

There was a flash of light, and Sky felt his form change. The girl - Hylia - no, Zelda, her name was Zelda - looked up, and her mouth fell open.

Sky stood in front of her, the size of a normal Hylian. A long white robe draped over him, and his wings fluttered on his back. His skin seemed to shimmer with sugar magic, and he wore a crown of feathers on his brow.

"You ask to be cleansed for this one occasion," Sky said softly. "But I will bless you for a lifetime."

Sky leaned forward, and for a moment was tempted to kiss her; but he bit his cheek and shied away from the notion. It was too bold, even for him. Sky ran his hands over the sailcloth. He laced it with his magic, blessing it with protection and love and courage in battle. Whichever knight won the Wing Ceremony, they would be lucky indeed - winning Zelda and a Great Fairy’s protection. But sorrow clutched at Sky’s heart - how  _ he _ wanted to be the one to win the ceremony, to receive this sailcloth that was choked with Zelda’s perfume. He still wanted to kiss her. But he pulled away, blinking at Zelda’s bewildered and flushed expression. 

"May the best knight win," He said softly.

  
  


Rupees poured from Green's palms down to the waiting Minish, who squeaked happily and eagerly shoveled them into its little tunic. He smiled and leaned on the side of the fountain, watching as the little creature scampered away back into the forest's arms.

Green sighed and dived back down into the water, letting the sugar magic soak into his skin to give back the power he had used to create those rupees. He sighed again, , bubbled erupting from his mouth, as he let himself float to the bottom of his fountain. He curled up on his bed of seaweed, relaxing back.

_ Green _ ! A voice barked, breaking his reverie. His eyes snapped open and he frowned. He rolled over, attempting to ignore it.

_ Green, I know you hear me! _ Blue hissed, his voice banging on Green's skull like a hammer. *The kid's back! The Hylian! I told you he's not gone!*

"Shut  _ up _ !" Green barked. "I'm trying to relax-"

_ We can't relax while there's a Hylian threatening the forest! _ Red wailed.  _ He came to my fountain the other day and scared me half to death! _

_ We know, Red! _ Blue shouted.  _ It’s not like you came stomping up to us the other day in tears because a little Hylian scared you! _

Green was beginning to get a headache - this telepathy thing was not good for his health.

"Blue, how do you know that he was back?" Green asked, sitting up. His hair floated freely around his head.

_ He came to my fountain! _ Blue snarled.  _ He came asking for help, and like hell I'm going to give weapons to a Hylian! That's the Minish's job! _

Vio had been awfully quiet during this whole interaction. Green seemed to be the only one to notice his absence.

"Vio, what do you think?" Green said. He felt the stir of Vio's thoughts, as if he was startled.

_ I mean, he hasn't come to my fountain _ , Vio pointed out.  _ I don't really have a say in this. You guys have all seen him; I haven't. _

Green sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Great," he mumbled. "We have a Hylian loose in the forest, and our strategist won't even help."

As Green's thoughts faded away, Vio slammed the lock on his telepathy momentarily. It was a skill he had taken a long time to learn - to block his thoughts from the others. He pulled himself to the surface of his fountain, shrinking down to Hylian size as he went.

He surfaced, jumping high into the air, and landed with flair on the edge of the fountain on one knee. The boy sitting on the mushroom steps jumped, nearly falling down.

Vio's gossamer wings fluttered. "Blue saw you," he said stoutly. "I thought I told you to stay away from my brother's fountains."

Shadow shrank into himself. "I'm sorry," he gasped. "I figured - maybe - maybe if I had more of you on my side, I could -"

"Is my help not enough?" Vio hissed. "The others won't trust a Hylian in the forest. Surely one Great Fairy is enough-"

"You don't know that!" Shadow snarled, his crimson gaze suddenly turning animalistic. He surged up the steps to shove his face near Vio's. "This - this  _ thing _ that dragged me out of that mirror - you have  _ no idea _ what it can do."

Shadow looked panicked. Vio put his hands on his shoulders and guided him into a sitting position. "Calm down," Vio murmured, reaching into the fountain and drawing out a handful of sugar water. He let it pour over his hands before he pressed his palms against Shadow's cheeks. Shadow visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I won't leave again. But - the other fairies...they're not going to help...?"

Vio bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Shadow," He murmured. "It may just be you and me."

"It won't be enough!" Shadow wailed, burying his head into his knees. "Lord Vaati is going to kill me if he finds out I've been conspiring against him! I'm already dead where I stand!"

“We’ll find a way to defeat him, Shadow,” Vio chided. “Never underestimate a Great Fairy’s power. I’m stronger alone than you may think.”

Shadow wiped his nose on his sleeve. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” he babbled. “You going up against Vaati alone is exactly what I’m trying to avoid-”

"Hush," Vio suddenly said, standing. Shadow froze. Vio summoned a ball of sparkling purple light in his palm, and squinted at the treeline.

“ _ Vio! _ ” Green’s voice called, annoyed. “I don’t know where you learned how to lock the telepathy, but you need to quit doing it! This is important!”

Vio spun towards Shadow. “Quick,” he hissed. “Hide - get in the fountain -”

But it was too late. Shadow scrambled up the mushrooms as fast as he could, but Green stormed out of the treeline in time to get a perfectly good view of Shadow before he slid into the fountain.

Green’s mouth fell agape. His wings snapped to attention, standing straight up. He fixed Vio with a look of disbelief.

“Was-” he sputtered. “That--that was--the  _ human _ -”

“Green, I can explain,” Vio said in a commanding voice, holding up his free hand to try and stop Green from continuing. 

"Vio!" Green cried. "You  _ traitor _ !"

  
  
  


Time was a lonely fairy. Being lonely meant being weak, in fairy standards. He had never had a single offering in his years of sitting alone in this fountain, deep down in its darkest depths. He felt trapped, vines tying him down. The sugar magic was running thin, and he was going to die. 

His only vivid memory was when he first became a fairy. He was not born into this world a Great Fairy - he had been a little boy, a Kokiri, as the little children of the forest were called. He did not remember much of being a Kokiri. All he remembered was That Day.

That Day had been terrible. He had been playing with his friend - what was her name? Time couldn't remember, which unnerved him - when suddenly the ground came rushing towards him much too fast and then his vision had gone red and all he felt was pain, pain,  _ pain _ .* He didn't remember much after that.

He remembered a strong, masculine voice, commanding,  _ take thee to the Lost Fountain, only there can Link be saved, _ he remembered a girl crying, and most of all, he remembered the feeling of water rushing into his lungs and choking him, like his throat had closed and turned into sandpaper.

But then he had emerged from the water, and he was sparkling, and his skin shimmered, and he had wings, and vines snaking up his arms. His hair was tied back into two tiny ponytails, and he felt like a completely new person. He wasn't sure if he liked that or not.

The girl that had brought him there was at the foot of the fountain. She had called him Link, and told him what had happened. How he had suffered a terrible accident that left his pretty face marred for good and that someone called the Great Deku Tree had told her to bring him to this fountain.

The fountain had healed him, but it had stolen two things: his eye and his freedom.

Time could never leave this fountain. He had watched that girl leave, and even though she had promised to return, she never came back. He heard her song in the forest sometimes, most times far away, but others closer. His only company were the pixies and the skull kids, who weren't good company at all - in his youth, he would always try to coax them over to play with him in the water, but all they did was throw stones at him and laugh in their chittering ways.

So Time gave up on trying to make friends in this forest. It was tucked away into the darkest corner of the forest, far away from wherever lost souls would wander. He was a lonely fairy, and that made him weak.

So he retreated down into the dark depths of his fountain.

It was years later that Time had a free thought. He heard a voice - not the annoying one in his head that kept telling him that there was still hope, that he had plenty of sugar magic left. A real voice - coming from above. A jingling laugh. The rustle of something. 

Time's remaining childish curiosity got the better of him. He was still an innocent Kokiri child at heart, never maturing or learning about the world from his lonely corner of the Lost Woods. Gritting his teeth, he tore himself from the vines, sending ripples through the water, which no longer sparkled like it used to. He slowly paddled to the surface, his tattered wings dragging behind him, and poked his head out.

A man stood on the edge of the fountain, an unsettling smile painted on his face. He had a large pack on his back, covered in all sorts of curious knicknacks. Something brightly colored was clasped in his hands. Time could barely take his eye off of it. It seemed to thrum with an unholy power. It wasn’t sugar magic, which was the only magic Time could remember. It was something darker. 

The man held the thing out. It was a mask, heart-shaped and purple, with spikes protruding from the top and sides. Two unsettling, yellow eyes peered out at Time.

"An offering," the man said with a pleasant voice. "An offering for the Great Fairy."

Time stared at it hungrily. He hadn’t had an offering in his many years of solitude in this fountain. He didn’t know that the only offerings that could help him were those of rupees, gems or sweets, which would give him the sugar magic he needed to survive. His brain was telling him,  _ don't take it, don't take it. It's not sugar magic! It won't help you! _

But his mind was still that of a child, and children are naive.

He reached out of the water and grabbed the mask from the man's hands.

  
  


Wind tapped his fingers against the driftwood rim of his fountain. He glanced at the sun. It was past noon. She was late. She was never late! She always came to his fountain right on time, with a picnic and snacks and lemonade that she said her grandma made. Wind didn't know what a grandma was, but at this point he was too afraid to ask.

Wind shouldn't be nervous that she was late. Anything could be holding Aryll up! Maybe Grandma had woken up late and was late to making the lemonade. Maybe the bridge that she said was her path to his fountain was broken. His brain couldn't help but jump to conclusions.

Wind resorted to doing backstrokes in the water as he waited. His wings fluttered nervously. He sang the lyrics to a song that Aryll had taught him, softly. 

_ I”'m scared - that I- won't e - ver change, I think, about, her e - veryday…” _

Wind flipped onto his stomach. He doggy paddled around his fountain. His wings were buzzing anxiously. 

_ “I can't - let go - I can't - go on - I'm not okay at all…” _

Wind's head shot up as he heard a rustling of branches, as if something heavy had fallen into the trees. His wings twitched.

"Hello?" he called, pushing himself up onto the edge of the fountain. He tilted his head to the side. There was no answer. Wind frowned, lowering himself back down into the fountain.

The next few minutes were quiet. Wind paddled around quietly, still waiting for Aryll.

A screech echoed around the clifftops. Wind froze in terror.

The shadow of a huge bird dappled the forest floor. Wind felt his wings and ears spike straight up as he heard a girl's scream.

_ Aryll's _ scream.

" _ Aryll _ !" Wind shrieked, grabbing the side of the fountain and pushing himself up and out of the water with a ferocious splash. His wings snapped open and he shot out of the safety of his fountain for the first time since he had memories.

He burst from the treetops, almost crashing into the enormous bird that was soaring by. Wind windmilled back - and then spied Aryll thrashing in its talons, screaming, her seagulls in her wake.

"Aryll, I'm coming!" Wind screeched, his wings aching from the unusual use as he shot forward. He was a small fairy, and there was no way he was going to defeat such a huge foe, but he slammed into the bird's leg that held Aryll. He hadn't thought this far ahead. In a moment of pure panic and desperation, Wind bit down on the bird's leg. Hard.

The bird screeched, and shook its leg, as if shaking off a fly. Wind was thrown off of the bird’s leg, momentarily dazed. Aryll screamed his name, but her voice was snatched away by the wind.

Wind plummeted down, down, down, down towards the ocean. The lack of sugar magic was already making him weak. His vision became fuzzy, and his wings were snatched up by the wind, leaving them useless.

Exhausted and hungry -  _ when was I ever hungry?  _ \- Wind fell down to the ocean’s waves. He glimpsed Aryll in the bird’s talons one last time before he hit the water.

It was like what Wind would imagine hitting stone would be like. All of the air was knocked out of him, and he felt a horrible, burning,  _ agonizing  _ pain in one of his wings. He screamed, but this wasn’t sugar water. He couldn’t breathe down here. All he got was a lungful of salt.

Wind saw stars, and then sank down, down down to the ocean floor. 


	3. chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twilight remembers his savior.
> 
> Legend saves a curious Hylian.
> 
> Hyrule does not have a fountain.
> 
> Wild is guilty of something he never did.
> 
> Warriors has a revelation.

The remains of the blight that once choked Twilight's fountain could still be found in abundance. The beautiful pale flowers that once sprawled around the perimeter, the ones that used to only bloom under the rays of the moon, were dead and shriveled and blackened, never to bloom again. The water was dark and murky, and even though sugar magic still remained, it did not sparkle like it used to. The water was always dark, yes - but it used to shimmer with silver and glitter like a night sky. This fountain used to be beautiful.

The effects of the sickness were apparent in Twilight, too. His wings were as solid black as obsidian, never to be the gentle, delicate gossamer things they once were. They used to glow in the moonlight, he remembered - in fact, his whole fountain used to simply illuminate under a clear night sky. That was when his powers were at their peak. That was when the seal he had placed on the Mirror Chamber was the strongest.

But then the mirror had shattered. Twilight had never thought that a threat may come from  _ within _ the mirror - for all he knew, he was the Great Fairy of the Twilight Realm, and it was his duty to protect the Mirror Chamber from impostors. The last people to grace his presence before the blight were those sages, who forced a terrifying Gerudo king back into the mirror. Twilight had watched the ceremony take place, peeking around his throne of flowers to watch with wide eyes.

But then a usurper king had crawled out, and Twilight had been Hyrule's first line of defense against such a powerful foe. Twilight had tried his best - he really had - but his powers were inferior to that of a Twili. All Zant had to do was simply touch the water of Twilight's fountain, and he poisoned it. Poisoned the water, the flowers, the magic - he poisoned Twilight.

Twilight had turned pale and was zapped of any magic. He grew weak without any offerings of rupees or magic. He was going to die soon, in the very waters that had once protected him.

No one came to save him, or to give him an offering to give him the magic he needed. He considered dragging himself out of the fountain to go seek help, but then decided against it - no Great Fairy could survive for very long outside their fountain, away from sugar magic.

Twilight had leaned on the side of the fountain, hoping that any passerby might see him and take pity. No passerby ever came. He set his chin on the side of the fountain and closed his eyes. The plague was painful, clawing at his insides. He was just waiting for it to be over.

A gentle hand suddenly touched his face, and Twilight gasped, touch-starved. He groggily opened his eyes, to see a beautiful Twili - nay, a Twili  _ princess _ in front of him. Her red eyes were unreadable, but her delicate mouth seemed to be tilted down into a frown. Another girl, this one brunette and dressed in royal purple, stood behind her, looking concerned.

Twilight did not have the strength to pull himself away from this possible attacker. He had been poisoned by a Twili, and now was this one going to finish him off?

But the princess removed her hand from his face, and sat on the edge of the fountain. She delicately dipped her hand into the waters of the fountain, part of her sleeve dropping into the water. Twilight watched, too weak to move.

He didn't see anything happen, but he  _ felt _ it. He gasped softly as part of his strength was returned. His wings perked up, and he lifted his head up from his hands as he found the resolve to move. The Twili princess removed her hand, and Twilight felt the blight lift from the fountain. He sighed in relief and pushed off from the side, pulling himself over to where the Twili princess sat. He never wanted to take his eyes off of her.

"What can I do to repay you?" He asked softly.

The princess had only smiled and stood up. She had never said a word to him.

The other girl - also a princess, Twilight realized - came over and dumped a handful of rupees into the water. Twilight gasped in delight, feeling the joyful power flow through his veins.

The two princesses had left, going deeper into the Mirror Chamber. Twilight was still reveling in the sparkling magic the rupees left behind. He had been saved! By a Twili, no less! He would have to thank her when she came back with the Hylian princess.

But when the purple-clad girl returned, the Twili princess was not with her. The girl had tears running down her pale face. She stopped at the fountain.

"Where is the princess?" Twilight asked eagerly. His wings stirred the water.

The Hylian princess shook her head. "Gone," she said softly. "She destroyed the mirror. She's never coming back."

Twilight felt his heart shatter, which made no sense. He had known that princess for all but five minutes! How could he have grown so attached? He felt like a fool.

"Oh," Twilight said softly. He let go of the side of the fountain, staring at the water for a moment. He felt his eyes burn. Great Fairies cry diamonds, yes, but he was not going to let this other princess see him cry.

He dove under the water, the sparkling gems flooding from his eyes. He didn't understand! Why was he so worked up about a princess he knew for just a few minutes!? She was a Twili, and he was a Great Fairy - it wouldn't have worked out anyways!

So the months passed, and Twilight remained at the bottom of his fountain, collecting diamonds. Travelers returned, and offered him rupees, and Twilight would send diamonds to the surface in thanks. He was no longer needed for his purpose - with the Mirror of Twilight gone, he had nothing to protect. He had nothing but his grimy water and diamond tears and heartache. 

The Hylian princess visited sometimes, and she was the only one Twilight would surface for. He never gave her diamonds, because her presence alone was enough to satisfy him. She didn't need diamonds, anyways - she was a princess.

They both missed the Twili princess. They both shared the heartache and the diamonds and the tears she left behind.

Legend was not a gentle fairy. He had the temper of a god and held grudges. A lot of them. But he was also the most visited Great Fairy in all of Hyrule, for one reason: his gifts were not those of healing or power-ups. It was that of  _ wealth _ .

Legend did not simply gift the pilgrim a mountain of rupees, no. He heard their prayer, and took their two or three rupees. He would give them a toothy grin and then dive below the sparkling, iridescent waters of his golden fountain to soak up their magic. With the powers they gave him, he would bless the pilgrim with wealth in the most unexpected of places. Their rose gardens would overflow with expensive, hybrid flowers that they could sell for a hefty price. A daughter's dowry could suddenly skyrocket overnight. Legend was a well-loved fairy, but in no way was he kind.

Legend knew the men who came to his fountain. He could look deep into their souls, see where their money went. Some men were rich beyond belief, and only came to his fountain in the name of greed. Some men spent their rupees on inhumane entertainment - women, drinks, hitmen, and other vile things. Legend could look at a man and see what kind of wealthy crimes he had committed.

Legend was not gentle with these kinds of men. As soon as they dropped their mountain of rupees into the water and begged him to deliver them great wealth, he did not disappear below the waters to take in their magic. No. He absorbed the magic from the rupees above water, and then the waves in the fountain would become choppy as they were fueled by a Great Fairy's unbridled rage. Legend would swell in size, and his wings would turn sharp as daggers, and his teeth would become like that of a shark's. He would snatch the men up in his hands, thank them sweetly for their donation.

And then he would drown them.

It was nighttime, and Legend was at the bottom of his fountain, grooming his wings. His whole fountain was solid gold and sparkling with rainbows. His loose robes floated freely around him as he polished the iridescent gossamer until it shone. Pilgrims were only allowed into his fountain from morning to dusk. His fountain was a national landmark, and was visited by thousands daily. He deserved breaks at night.

He felt a stir in his gut as someone entered the premises. He frowned, and let go of his wing. It was past sundown, which meant that he was  _ not _ to be disturbed. Had another silly, fat rich man stumbled into the fountain to beg for riches? Had these men not learned from the dozens of nobles that had been drowned in the past?

The aura around this trespasser was alight with fear. Legend's face twisted into a grin. It would be fun to kill them out of fear, at least.

Legend pushed off the bottom of the fountain, feeling his wings sharpen and his teeth morph down into points. He grinned as he put on a burst of speed, and then erupted out of the water with a magnificent splash. 

Legend slammed his hands down on either side of his fountain, and flared his wings, ready to kill -

The trespasser flung themselves into the waters of the fountain. That was unexpected.

Legend watched in astonishment as the little Hylian doggy-paddled over to him and clutched onto his side. It was a fly on an elephant. The raven-haired Hylian was sobbing and shrieking, scrabbling for a hold.

"Please!" he shrieked. "Help me! Monsters! They were chasing me!"

Legend was disgusted. A Hylian was  _ touching _ him! A Hylian was  _ in his fountain! _

But...it was also kind of cute. The way it latched onto him and begged him for help. Legend supposed he could let an invasion of his fountain slide just for once.

A crowd of moblins stumbled into the grotto, roaring. So these were the monsters the little Hylian was so scared of.

Legend smirked. This would be the highlight of his day.

Legend picked up the raven-haired Hylian in one hand, letting him sit in his palm. The Hylian shrieked again and stumbled, yanking his purple hood over his head in fear.

The moblins heard his cries and lumbered forward, hefting huge wooden clubs. They didn't seem to notice the huge Great Fairy in their way.

Legend frowned.  _ Nuisances _ .

He held up his free hand, and felt the sugar magic in the fountain rush to his aid. He felt a rainbow build up at his fingertips, and with a grunt, his hand exploded in iridescent light.

The moblins howled as they were blown backwards by a rainbow shot from Legend's palm. A few were felled and exploded in a burst of purple light. Two, however, remained, and seemed to be stronger than the others. Legend grinned as a glimmering, iridescent trident appeared in his hand.

The moblins rushed at the fountain. Legend squinted with one eye closed, tongue poking out of his mouth as he judged the distance. He wound back with his arm, taking one last curious measurement, and then hurled the trident at the monsters.

It speared them both at once through the chest, and they howled as they disappeared into purple dust. The trident disappeared, the sugar magic flooding back to Legend.

Legend gently set the little Hylian back down on the edge of the fountain. He was still shaking like a leaf, his purple bunny hood covering his face.

"Are you alright, little one?" Legend asked as gently as possible. His vocal chords were not made for speaking softly.

The little Hylian peered out from underneath his hood. His green eyes were wider than a fawn's.

"Thank you, Mr. Fairy," He breathed. "Thank you  _ ever _ so much!"

  
  


"Excuse me," Hyrule called, waving at a traveler who was cantering by on their horse. "Sir! Excuse me, sir!"

The traveler slowed their horse, glancing at Hyrule suspiciously. "Whaddaya need, son?" He barked.

Hyrule clutched the straps of his bag tightly. "I-I need to make it to the next town over, sir," He stammered. "I don't think I can make it on foot by nightfall. Do you...do you mind if I hitch a ride on the back of your horse? I'm real light, and I don't fuss."

The man frowned. "Why don'tcha have your own horse, kid?"

Hyrule spread his hands helplessly. "No rupees, sir," he said woefully. "I'll spare you my story."

The man snickered. "Heh. Don’t we all. Gah, whaddaya say - hop on the back. Maisie won't mind another traveler."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" Hyrule chirped, eagerly climbing up onto the back of the appaloosa. He sat so they were back-to-back. "I won't speak a peep, I promise."

The traveler laughed. "Nah, you're good, kid. It's been lonely. A bit of company never hurt anybody."

Hyrule smiled. He settled himself in and clutched the end of the saddle as the horse continued to canter on.

"Where are ya from, son?" The traveler asked.

"Oh, you know." Hyrule waved a hand. "Around. The mountains, if you want the specifics."

"The mountains, huh?" The traveler remarked. "Aren't those infernal things crawling with monsters?"

"Yeah!" Hyrule said with good humor. He tapped the sword that was strapped to his back. "But they're not a problem for me, at least when I have my sword."

The man smiled. "That sword looks mighty fine. If you want a horse, why don't you sell it?"

Hyrule shook his head, even though the man couldn't see him. "Oh, no. This sword is really special. Someone gave it to me, and I feel like it would be disrespectful to sell it off."

The traveler nodded. "Yeah. That's understandable. I like you, kid. You've got honor."

Hyrule beamed.

"So, where are you headed?" The man asked.

"Hyrule Castle," Hyrule said. He expected the man's reaction.

"Hyrule  _ Castle _ ?" The man exclaimed. "Kid, you're insane. That place is crawlin' with monsters."

"I know!" Hyrule chirped. He smiled. "That's exactly why I'm going. I'm going to save the princesses from the monsters."

"You do know that hundreds of knights, much stronger than you, have tried to go to Hyrule Castle, and have died?" The traveler retorted.

"Of course I do," Hyrule said. The lights of the town were appearing up ahead. "That's why I'm going. No one else has been able to save the princesses."

"How do you even know that the princesses are real?" The traveler scoffed. "It could just be a rumor made up to goad the best knights into dying in that hellhole."

Hyrule shrugged. "It's just...hope. That's all we really have, y'know? Hope."

"Hope," the traveler murmured. "Yeah. Sure."

They were quiet for the rest of the horse ride. Hyrule kept a tight hold on his bag, which was now settled in his lap. The traveler pulled the horse to a stop on the outskirts of the town, where there were pastures and not many other people around.

"I'll let you off here, kid," The traveler said. "Some advice from an old man? Forget about going to Hyrule Castle. You're a fine youth. Hyrule needs kids like you to grow up to protect it."

Hyrule slid off of the horse, turning to the man. He held his bag to his chest, and smiled up at the traveler.

"Thank you for your kindness," He said. "But, forgive me. I don't think your advice applies to me."

His bag began to glow.

The traveler's eyes went wide as Hyrule closed his eyes and let himself be enshrouded in the pink light. His mouth fell open as the once grimy, ratty-looking kid was transformed before his eyes.

Gems broke from Hyrule's skin, dusting his cheeks like freckles. Two thin, tiny antennae grew from his hair. Ribbons of gossamer and pink light enshrouded him, turning his green tunic pink and lacing it with ribbons. A pair of magnificent wings, bigger than himself, sprouted from his back. Tiny pink pixies flew out from the bag, circling him and chiming in excitement. He shrunk down until he was nearly the pixie's size.

Hyrule hovered a few feet off the ground as the light around him faded. He opened his eyes, and the traveler stared back. He saw countless adventures reflected in the Great Fairy's eyes; failed ones, succeeded ones, through space and time itself. The Great Fairy of Travelers had no fountain, no place to call home - except the firesides of willing travelers and the dusty roads of the lands he wandered, relying on the kindness of strangers to give him the magic he needed to survive.

Hyrule smiled at the bewildered traveler, tilting his head. "Thank you for your kindness," He said, and his voice seemed to multiply into the pixies around him. "You have carried a Great Fairy across Hyrule, and your actions will not go unrewarded."

Darting forward, Hyrule pressed a tiny kiss to the end of the traveler's nose. The traveler gasped as strength surged through him, and he was no longer exhausted or weary. The bumps and bruises of previous travels disappeared.

Hyrule smiled, his pixies darting around him. "A traveler's blessing," he told the man. "May you be protected by the goddesses for the rest of your days." He swept into a tiny bow. "And don't forget to take care of your fellow travelers!"

Giggling, Hyrule fluttered his wings, scattering glitter everywhere, and disappeared in a flash of pink light. His pixies went with him, and then the land was silent and dark once more.

  
  


The Great Fairy of the Great Plateau was not meant to be seen by commonfolk. He was the Great Fairy that served the royal family, and the royal family alone. He may have been the littlest fairy of his sisters, and in turn the weakest in terms of blessing clothing, but his blessings of life and fortune were much stronger.

The royal family visited only on special occasions, but their hefty offerings kept the sugar magic within the fountain alive. In their absence, the Great Fairy kept watch over the Plateau. He took care of the animals, he took care of the wildlife. The Great Plateau was an untamed frontier. And it was his, and his alone.

The Great Fairy did not have a name, so he called himself Wild. It referenced the tiny world he lived in, the ferocious dangers of the raised landscape. He was a beautiful fairy, despite his surroundings and his name. His clothes were royal blue gossamer, and long ago a princess of Hyrule had given him a sapphire circlet as an offering. His sisters complained that he was always the spoiled one.

Wild didn't mind being alone on the Great Plateau. He was content with his animal friends, even if he couldn't leave his fountain. They would come to him with little offerings of their own - wildberries and apples and even gems that the foxes would pick off of the Talus across the Plateau. They gave him the extra power he needed to protect them. If poachers or robbers bound for the Temple of Time snuck into the holy grounds, the animals would take care of them.

Still, Wild longed to be free of his elegant pond. He wished he could run and play and frolic with his animal friends. He feared that he would never have the chance. He would die without sugar magic, so he never left his fountain.

This royal family of Hyrule was a troubled one. A late queen, a controlling king, and a bossy daughter. Wild never looked forward to their visits. He cringed when he blessed them. The princess's visit on the eve of her seventeenth birthday should be no different.

The princess was in her research clothes, not her normal royal garments. She looked sad. The animals had told Wild of her arrival before he saw her. He sensed her stop at the lip of the fountain, and she hesitated. Then she hurled three golden rupees into the water as hard as she could, as if she wanted to hit him.

Wild, who was at the bottom of the fountain, frowned.  _ Aggressive _ .

He swam to the top, using his wings to propel him. He was not showy, like his sisters, and simply surfaced, trying not to splash the princess. He was a little bigger than an average Hylian, unlike his sisters, but still managed to tower over the little princess.

The princess's hands were balled into fists, and he didn't look happy.

Wild studied her as he settled on the edge of the fountain. "How may I serve you?" He asked.

"Where is my holy power?" The princess shouted abruptly. Wild realized her face was streaked with tears. "I've prayed at  _ every goddess-damned spring _ in this country except for one. Every other princess's powers have come so easily! Why has Hylia  _ cursed _ me with such a malevolent nuisance?"

Wild was taken aback. She thought that  _ he _ could help her? Her powers were of the goddesses, not a fairy's.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you, your grace," Wild said softly. "Your powers are out of my hands."

The princess's face screwed up, and then she burst into more tears. "You're  _ useless _ !” She cried. "You're a failure of a Great Fairy! You don't even have any wisdom to share with me?! Hyrule may fall because of  _ your incompetence! _ "

The princess stormed away, still crying, leaving Wild speechless and shellshocked. 

Him...being the downfall of Hyrule? Impossible. He was just a little Great Fairy. He had no say in how the world ended. He descended back down into his fountain, the princess's words still ringing in his head.

And then the sky turned dark, and the world ended because of his mistakes.

Wild watched as a malicious wave overtook Hyrule Castle, wrapping around it like a snake. He watched the Divine Beasts turn red, and he watched the pilots be slain. He watched the princess march to Hyrule Castle, the realm's last line of defense against the beast.

The flower where the spring sat in was closing up, alarmed by the sudden darkness in the air. The sugar magic was no match for malice. Wild watched the cracks in between the petals grow smaller and smaller. He figured he deserved to be locked away forever.

He got a glimpse of movement from one of the cracks, and peered out - two Sheikah women, rushing up the hill across from the Temple of Time. One of them had a blonde girl in her arms. Not the princess - this girl was stronger, more lean. But she appeared to be dead.

Wild never found out what happened to that girl. The flower closed, and he was trapped in darkness for one hundred years.

A century later, the flower opened. Wild had been asleep, and cringed away from the sudden burst of light. He mewled, bubbles coming to the surface of the water. Someone had dropped some rupees in. 

Wild opened his eyes. The rupees, green and red, floated down to the bottom, tinkling softly as they bounced against each other as they landed. Wild reached out and touched them, gasping as he absorbed energy after a hundred years of being starved of magic. 

Wild slowly paddled to the surface, his bones cracking and aching from a century of not moving. He poked his head out of the water, eyes streaming from the light.

The same dead blonde girl from one hundred years ago crouched at the side of the fountain. Her hair had grown, and her wounds were gone. She looked more determined, and her brows were furrowed.

"You're not the royal family," Wild croaked. "I am not worthy of being called upon by anyone. Please leave."

"I don't give a shit about how you feel right now, buddy," The girl snapped. "Listen. I just woke up from a hundred-year coma, and I don't remember shit other than my name. Do you know where the hell I am?"

Wild squinted at her. He paddled to the side of the fountain.

"What is your name, courageous one?" He whispered.

The girl's face hardened.

"Aryll."

  
  


Warriors was a fairy of soldiers. He protected them, and aided them in battle. His fountain was nestled away in the mountains, through obstacles and twists and turns that only the bravest of soldiers could trek through. When they got there, they were met with a beautiful war fairy, one that was beautiful beyond the battle scars that graced his holy form. His wings were large and dripping with jewels, but his shoulders were enshrouded in armor and a cape. He was a graceful fairy, one that danced on the battlefield.

Soldiers from all over the land came to his fountain to pray for victory. He would hear their prayers, and tell them all something similar:  _ Victory will find you, even in your darkest moments. You are the hero Hyrule needs. _

Of course, they weren't Hyrule's hero. But Warriors adored the look of delight on their faces when he told them that.

He did not answer the prayers of the men who wanted strength to kill. His powers were not used to sway a battle to one ending - his powers were used for a good, fair fight.

But that didn't mean Warriors didn't like to have fun on the battlefield.

Though he could not leave his fountain, when a battle took place, Warriors could use the sugar magic in his fountain to project himself onto the battlefield. He only did this in the wars against monsters - when armies of evil came against his precious Hylian troops that he loved so dearly.

Warriors looked forward to battling alongside his pilgrims. His projected form was massive and he mainly used his magic to fight, but he danced with swords on the battlefield and sang with shields. He protected the generals and escorted catapults and battering rams and Bombchus to the right places. His power was terrifying, but he had never had to use its full extent. And he was thankful for that. He wasn't sure if the world could handle it.

One day, the queen of Hyrule came to his fountain. She was a warrior queen. Though her dress was skimpy and she wielded nothing but a rapier, Warriors was awed by her raw strength. She had a fighter's grace  _ and _ the Triforce of Wisdom to boot. Warriors didn't understand why  _ she _ was coming to  _ him _ for aid.

"Great Fairy of Battles," The queen began. "A dark force has been brewing in Hyrule. Something stronger than we have ever seen before. I come before you to beg for your aid in the coming conflict."

Warriors leaned on the side of the fountain. He had already sensed the masses of evil growing on the edges of the world. Ancient evils, along with new ones.

"I have already begun gathering forces," the queen explained. "My own swordswoman, Impa, is our general, and we have the help of the white sorceress Lana. However, your help may turn the tides of this war. My men speak of seeing you in visions, fighting alongside them. I know you cannot leave your fountain, but simply blessing my forces may tip the scales in our favor."

Warriors grinned. "A simple blessing will not fell the ancient evil that is brewing at your borders. But I will be more than happy to fight alongside a beautiful queen such as yourself."

So aid them Warriors did. He protected the queen and her allies from across space and Time. They beat back the evil sorceress Cia, and after that, beat back the Demon King Ganondorf. Warriors had never had so much fun in his life.

But the war to end all wars had an end, like all wars did. He helped the queen seize victory, and the banner of Hyrule's royal family was raised once again.

Soon, though, Warriors was faced with a problem. Without a war, there were no soldiers. Without soldiers, he got no offerings. Without offerings, there was no sugar magic, and without sugar magic...

Warriors was seemingly forgotten about, after the queen's decisive victory. He wallowed in his fountain, all alone. He hated to say it, but he  _ needed _ wars to live. The thoughts of assassinations and schemes filled his head - until he realized that warriors were more than soldiers.

They were farmers and fathers, traveling salesmen and blacksmiths. They were men and women who defended their children from childhood bullies. They were the people who fought through hunger and exhaustion on the streets, begging for a morsel of food to make it through the day.They were the men and women behind the scenes at the castle, getting the queen ready for court and fixing any rips or tears in her dress that may lead to future embarrassments.

_ Everyone is a warrior, _ Warriors realized one day.  _ I don't need wars to live. I just need the people. _

So that's what he became. The Great Fairy of the people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woe.....yankee with no brim.....
> 
> I simp for legend in this au
> 
> also for future reference, twi, leg, and wars’ great fairy designs are all shirtless. never let me forget this


	4. chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sky races.
> 
> Vio meets Shadow’s employer.
> 
> Time’s mask is stolen.
> 
> Wind falls asleep.

Zelda stayed at his fountain. Even when Sky sank back into the sugary water after delivering his blessing, she sat at the side of the fountain, silent as she lightly stirred the water with her hand. Sky knew it was seen as taboo for a great fairy like himself to communicate so freely with a mortal - so he stayed at the bottom of his fountain, feeling Zelda’s touch flow through the water. And she sang - she had a beautiful voice, just like Hylia herself. Her song gave his sugar water more power than he remembered it having in a long time. He felt himself swell with power, and his underwater sanctuary glowed with more light. 

But soon, dawn came and took Zelda away. She had a duty for the Wing Ceremony. Sky rose in the water and poked his head out just enough to see the girl walk away, holding the sailcloth close to her chest. Her head was bent, and by the curve of her shoulders, she looked defeated. But what had she lost?

Sky’s heart fluttered momentarily.  _ Was she sad that she was leaving me? _

Sky dismissed the thought. There was nothing special about him. There were probably dozens of knights on Skyloft vying for her hand that were leagues better than Sky.

Skyloft woke up, and Sky was forced to lounge at the bottom of his fountain. A few pilgrims came by, but it was nothing extravagant. It was just the normal old men and women who stopped by to drop their change in his waters. The pavilion where his fountain was was as quiet as ever. His fountain was that of reverence. It was normally quiet, unless that reverie was broken by a girl’s sweet singing. 

The pavilion would be filled soon to accommodate the civilians who would be watching the Wing Ceremony, so Sky closed his fountain. He brought up the petals around the top and closed them tightly. Normally, he would be fine sitting in the glowing light of his fountain until the people dispersed, but this year, he wanted to watch. He brushed his hands across the inside of the petals, coating them with sugar magic. The inside of the flower became transparent, with only a faint iridescent sheen telling that something solid was there. However, from the outside, it appeared as if the flower had not been glamoured at all. 

Sky stayed submerged as the people surrounded his fountain, getting ready to watch the ceremony. Children found it funny to use his fountain as a playground. Although most parents tugged their children off of the steps and away from the holy site, other children managed to climb all the way to the top of the flower to get the best vantage point to watch the ceremony. Sky frowned up at them. He wanted to burst the flower open just to make them leave. But then he would feel guilty. 

He could tell when the ceremony started when the cheers erupted from the gathered crowd. Sky immediately pushed himself up to the side of the fountain, watching with wide eyes as the gathered loftwings took to the air with their riders fastened to their backs. Sky always marveled at the loftwing’s grace in flight. He had never been out of his fountain long enough to properly take flight - he could fly underwater, as long as it was sugar water, but the water was heavy and he had to push his wings extra hard to propel himself. But the open air was free and light, charged with a different magic than that of sweets and charm.

His hands gripped the marble edge of his fountain in tension as the birds dipped and weaved between the air currents, following a golden bird that carried the statuette that was their goal. Sky chewed his lip, his breath hitching with every dramatic turn and spiral the loftwings took. 

Sky wanted to grab the bird statuette between his own fingers. He wanted to be on that Goddess Statue with Zelda. He wanted his  _ own  _ blessing of protection and love, and most of all, he wanted  _ Zelda _ . Never in his years of living on Skyloft had he seen a mortal like her. She was the spitting image of the goddess Hylia that had placed Sky on this sacred ground so many years ago. He wanted to bless  _ her,  _ wanted to weave her hair with sugar and sprinkle her skin with love. He just wanted to hold Zelda and never let go. 

Before he knew it, the flower was opening. The children perched at the top shrieked in alarm as they were either knocked into the crowd or went falling down into the sparkling waters. The crowd's attention was diverted from the race to the fountain, watching in awe and horror as Sky rose from the water, sparkling like a god. He sighed in almost  _ relief  _ as fresh air hit his legs and feet, and he was able to stretch his wings farther than they had ever gone. His eyes locked on the golden bird, flying stoutly along, undisturbed by the commotion around the fountain. A few of the riders were glancing back, looking alarmed, but most of the riders either didn’t notice, or kept their eyes on the bird. 

Sky shot out from the water, arrowing straight for the bird. He shrank as he went, narrowing down to normal Hylian size. His buzzing, gossamer wings were leagues faster than the loftwings. The birds screeched in fear and alarm as Sky zipped past them, his face flushed against the cold air smacking him. He had never felt so free in his life!

But he could feel something...wrong. As he flew, his limbs were getting heavier. A growling in his stomach began. His eyelids drooped. Sky felt like he wanted to drop down to the surface of Skyloft and take a nap. 

But Sky couldn’t! He blinked away the sudden weakness, training his eyes on the golden bird. The statuette tied to its leg was in plain sight. There was just one more rider ahead of Sky - he could do this!

Sky sucked in a breath and put on a last burst of speed, snaking past the last rider. He reached out, his fingers brushing the statuette -

Sky gasped and shrieked as someone grabbed him by the hem of his robes and yanked him backwards. He shook his head and looked up, seeing the red-headed rider sail past him, grinning maliciously. 

Sky felt weaker with every flap of his wings, but he set his jaw.  _ No one,  _ not even Skyloftians with silly hair, was getting in the way of him and that statue. 

He growled as he clawed the air, pushing his wings as fast as they could go. He dipped after the rider, soon catching up with him. The rider reached out to knock Sky off course, but Sky was anticipating his actions. Sky used his shoulder to ram against the rider, sending him tumbling off of his loftwing. 

Gasping with the effort, Sky reached forward and ripped the bird statuette from the golden loftwing’s talons. The bird screeched in alarm and flapped back to the surface of Skyloft. 

There were supposed to be trumpets. There were always trumpets when a knight won the ceremony. But the sky was deathly quiet as Sky hovered in place, holding the bird statuette with a vice grip. His wings felt like lead, and the weight of his legs were dragging him down. 

Sky looked down at the statuette. His hands were shaking, he noticed.

Sky looked back up, and saw Zelda standing on a pier, looking up at him with a horrified expression. Her blue eyes were wide, her mouth agape. 

He slowly held up the statuette. “I got it,” he mumbled. “I got the statue.”

Sky’s eyelids were too heavy. But he wanted to stay awake to see Zelda! He had to stay awake.

He floated forward a few feet, trying to fly over to Zelda. In his peripheral vision, he saw a squad of loftwings coming his way - to  _ detain  _ him. 

Sky felt so heavy. And hungry. When had he ever been hungry? 

Eyes rolling back into his head, Sky plummeted down to the clouds. 

  
  
  
  
  


Vio put his hands up, magic still crackling at his fingertips. “Green, I’m not a  _ traitor, _ ” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m trying to -”

“You  _ know _ what humans could do to us!” Green shouted, cutting him off. Vio’s heart sank as he felt Green send the telepathic message to Red and Blue - Vio was a traitor, and the human was at his fountain.

Green swept his arm around. “Vio, that human could destroy the forest!” He cried. “He could destroy the fountains! He could  _ rob _ us!”

“Oh, of course,” Vio said icily. “The world will simply end if you run out of rupees.”

Green bared his teeth. “The world  _ will _ end if you keep letting humans in!” He exclaimed.

Vio scoffed. “Name  _ one other time _ I’ve let a human into the forest!”

Green opened his mouth to spit a retort, but was interrupted as Blue landed next to him, gossamer wings buzzing angrily. His golden hair was tousled from the wind.

“Vio-” he growled.

Red tumbled out of the brush, righting himself and flicking his wings. “Vio, is there really a human in your fountain?” He asked, eyes wider than the moon.

Vio took a step backwards towards the lip of the fountain. “If you could all just give me  _ one moment _ to  _ explain _ \- “

“No!” Green shouted, eyes blazing. He flared his wings. “You don’t owe us an explanation! You’ve shut us out for so long - first you refuse to come to our meetings, then you block out your telepathy, and now you betray the forest by bringing a human into our borders?” Green shook his head. “Vio, you don’t  _ deserve _ to give us an explanation.”

Blue was nodding vigorously, while Red was clutching his hands and glancing at the fountain nervously.

Vio took another tentative step back, now standing on the edge of the fountain. “If you don’t let me explain, the forest really could get destr-”

He was cut off as Blue shot forward, tackling him backwards into the fountain with abnormal speed. Vio screeched and swung his fist around, hitting Blue in the jaw. Blue growled, kicking Vio in the gut and then grabbing him by his hair. Vio coughed out a stream of sparkling bubbles, all the air knocked out of him. He could breathe in the sugar water, of course, but he was forced to gulp in lungfuls of sweet water. Blue jerked his head back by his hair, hurling him into the side of the fountain. Vio gasped, his vision turning black for a moment, and he saw stars. 

Blue was better than him at battle, that was true - but Vio _ was _ more cunning. He saw Blue coming at him again, his wings slashing through the water, and Vio threw himself out of the way at the last second. Blue collided with the wall, and shook his head, grunting in pain. 

A shriek of surprise from above alerted Vio. His head snapped up to see Shadow’s legs thrashing frantically as he was dragged out from the fountain. 

Vio’s face twisted into a snarl as he shot out of the fountain, wings flaring as he surfaced. Green yanked Shadow from the fountain and threw him to the ground at Red’s feet before he turned to meet Vio.

Green and purple magic collided in the air as both fairies shot a beam of iridescent light at each other. Vio dodged another shot and bowled into Green, knocking him to the ground. He snapped around to find Red, and he was not at all surprised to see Shadow on his feet, behind the little fairy, with a dagger pressed to his neck. 

Green shoved Vio off of him, standing. “Let go of Red!” He shouted, angry green magic sparkling at his fingertips. 

“Not until you  _ help me _ !” Shadow cried. His amber eyes glowed dangerously. He stamped his foot indignantly on the grass. “Just - just  _ listen to me _ !”

Shadow yelped as Red flared his wings, knocking his arms away. He darted out of Shadow’s hands, stumbling back and behind Green and Vio, who rose to his feet. 

Vio leaped in front of Shadow before Green could lash out. “Green, just listen to him for one moment,” Vio insisted. “The forest - nay,  _ Hyrule _ could fall-”

“Yes!” Green exclaimed angrily. “The forest will fall if you keep  _ him _ here!”

“There is a bigger threat!” Vio cried. His chest rose and fell rapidly - why wouldn’t Green just  _ listen? _

“The bigger threat is more humans coming here if you keep being so soft!” Blue growled as he heaved himself from the fountain. He has a bruise forming around his eye. “Just kill him and get it over with!”

“Kill him, hm?” An unfamiliar voice chided. “Well, don’t mind if I do.”

Vio whirled as the leaves around began to shake with a torrential wind. His wings were pressed flat against his back. He watched as another Hylian stepped out of the trees, looking unimpressed. A royal purple hood covered pale purple hair, and his cruel crimson eyes slashed across the assembled fairies.

Shadow shrieked in terror and stumbled back, and Vio caught him before he could fall. The pale Hylian’s cloak whipped back and forth in the wind, but he seemed unfazed. He sneered at Shadow.

“You’re a useless pawn,” he snarled. “I have to do everything myself.”

“ _ You’re _ Vaati,” Vio growled. His grip on Shadow’s arm tightened. 

Vaati grinned, showing off his sharp teeth. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Great Fairy of Knowledge,” he said shrewdly, miming a bow. “Shadow has told me all about you.”

Vio’s gaze snapped to Shadow. His shoulders curled in on himself, and he gripped his hands anxiously.

“You lied to me,” Vio said softly, wrenching his hand off of Shadow’s arm.

Shadow shook his head, looking up at Vio with a pitiful expression. “I-I’m sorry, Vio,” He stammered. “I never meant-”

The wind roared and Shadow was suddenly in Vaati’s arms. The wind mage grinned once more. “As touching as this is, I really must take him back,” Vaati sneered. “And also kill all of you. Now that this useless shrimp has compromised me, you four are much too dangerous to my conquest to be left alive.”

“Wait -  _ what _ ?” Green cried as the wind picked up once more. The wind snatched up Vio’s wings, stretching them in an unnatural way. He squinted against the wind, seeing a ball of dark energy gather at Vaati’s fingertips. Shadow was screaming over the wind, but Vio couldn’t hear him. Vaati had one hand wrapped firmly around his throat.

“ _ Move! _ ” Vio screamed, turning and throwing himself at the others. He bowled them all over, throwing himself on top of them as there was a  _ schwoop _ — Vaati shot the deadly magic towards them.

Red’s scream and Blue’s firm hand clutched in his hair were the last things Vio remembered before everything went black. 

  
  
  
  


Time hadn’t yet put on the mask. He thought it would do much better as decoration. He tried multiple different places - the bottom of the fountain, the trees that surrounded it, the edge of it, but none of them quite worked well. He wasn’t much of an interior designer.

Okay, yes, he’d admit it. He was scared of the mask.

Like that little voice in his head had said, the mask did not give him any sugar magic. It was simply a useless hunk of carved and painted wood that unsettled him to his core. The eyes seemed to stare right into him, unblinking, and he had already given himself two splinters fiddling with it. He covered it with vines whenever he took a nap, just because it freaked him out so much. He cursed himself for taking it from that man’s hands. 

It was a toy, really. There was no reason that Time should be afraid of it. He was a man - an  _ adult.  _ He was broad-shouldered and tall, and well-toned despite spending his days at the bottom of a dark fountain. He cut his hair often - he had let it grow out once, reaching down to his lower back, until he had cut it all off and used it to try and lasso a fairy as it flew by. Sometimes he conjured up bubbles so he could stare at his pitiful face - the one eye and the curious markings on his cheek and his forehead. He wasn’t sure where he had gotten those. Maybe they were another result of That Day.

Despite his appearance, Time had no reason to have a mature mindset. He was still a six year old child at heart and in his mind - he had not matured at all. He giggled when bubbles burst on his nose, and watched fireflies flit by in the evenings with wonder in his blue eye. Sometimes he wished that the canopy of the Lost Woods wasn’t so thick, so he could see the stars.

How did he know what stars looked like? Time didn’t remember a lot from before That Day, just bits and pieces - but he remembered reading a book with that girl that had delivered him to the fountain. He remembered reading something called a star chart in that book. The stars had made pictures in the sky - he remembered that vividly. He didn’t recall their exact names, but he knew what they were - a chalice here, a Gerudo necklace to the southern sky, a royal stallion galloping to the north. He remembered trying to climb a tree with the girl to escape the canopy, trying to see the stars, but the girl’s fairy had ushered them down. 

Time had stared up at the leaves of the Lost Woods for countless hours, wondering what picture was above him. One day, more recently, he held the mask up above him, wondering if he could make a picture of the mask in the sky. He wondered if he would ever get to see the stars. 

The man that gave him the mask never returned. Time spent many days wondering how the man traversed the forest and wound up at his fountain. Even the girl - the girl who had promised to come back and see him - had not returned. So how had this stranger come to his fountain? Was he still lost in the forest? Where was he? What sort of hulking monster was trapped in that bag of his?

Time decided not to dwell on it. He tried not to think about why the man had given him the curious mask. 

The skull kids seemed to be particularly interested in it. Once the man in purple had left, they crowded the fountain, trying to see Time’s new toy.

“It’s a mask!” One of them chirped. Time had learned their silly little chirping language over the years he had sat trapped in the sparkling waters of the fountain. The skull kid reached out to try and touch it, but it was way out of his reach. 

Time held it up out of the water. “It’s kind of creepy,” He croaked. His voice was hoarse and soft, crackling in his throat from misuse. 

Another skull kid had laughed. “Let me try it on!” She screeched, leaning over and trying to snatch it from Time’s hands.

Time flicked his wings, pushing himself backwards and away from the crowd. He held the mask close to his chest. “No!” he spat.

The kids screeched with laughter. Each one tried to reach out and grab it, but Time growled and flared his wings at each of them. That didn’t seem to deter them, as soon enough the mask was out of Time’s hands and in the clutches of a skull kid. 

“Give it back!” Time yelled, frantically splashing over to the side of the fountain. But the skull kids were already moving away, back to their hiding places in the forest. The kid with the mask gleefully giggled, turning it in her hands and staring curiously at the eyes. Her nimble little hands ran over the spikes.

“That’s  _ mine _ !” Time roared, and he put his hands on either side of the fountain and hauled himself up. The skull kids froze, watching with wide eyes as Time rose from the water. 

Despite having the mind of a child, he had been growing as he hibernated down in his fountain. With the body of an adult, he towered leagues over the skull kids. He was wrapped in vines, like those much grander and more powerful fairies scattered across the land. His hair, in its three little ponytails, dripped sparkling water. His face, his scars, twisted into a mighty scowl. 

Time flared his wings. “Give it  _ back _ !” he hissed. 

The skull kid trembled as the mask tumbled from her hands. She scampered back into the forest along with the rest of the skull kids, most of them crying out in fear as they scuttled away. 

Time felt heavy as he bent down to pick up the mask where it lay, brushing his thumbs over the cracks in the wood. It thrummed with a deep energy, a  _ dark _ energy. Time didn’t like it. He stared deep into the horrifying green-yellow-orange-red eyes, feeling his ears begin to ring and his vision go blurry. He gasped, trying to drop the demented thing, but he was frozen in place as his hands began to shake. 

Whispers filled his head, murmuring something in a language he didn’t understand. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as the mask itself trembled, floated from his outstretched hands, and hovered in front of his face. It shook like it was about to explode. 

Time stared back into its eyes in horror, mouth agape as he tried to scream. He felt like a statue, and maybe that’s what he was. This mask must be a boogeyman - a thing of a child’s nightmares. Yet Time was no longer just a child. 

The mask floated closer, closer, until finally it tapped the tip of his nose. Time felt tendrils of energy zip through his nerves. He unfroze for an instant, long enough to scream and see the grass come rushing up towards him much too fast, then there was nothing. 

  
  
  
  


Wind was floating. He wasn’t exactly sure where - was it the ocean? His fairy fountain? Some sort of afterlife? 

He couldn’t open his eyes, or maybe they were open. Maybe it was just dark. Wind didn’t like the dark. It was scary, and things could hide in it. At night, up by his fountain, sometimes monsters would come out. They couldn’t approach the fountain - the sugar magic was too strong, too pure - but he had seen them, and their gleaming swords and sharp teeth. Even if he was a Great Fairy, he was afraid of them. 

He tried his best to remember what last happened. Wind remembered flying - soaring through the air, wings outstretched. He had never flown before. How had he flown? Why was he flying?

It hurt his head to try and remember. He remembered a girl’s scream...a dark shadow...the ocean rushing up to him much too fast. 

Wind tried to reach out, to get his bearings in this empty void. His arm was slow and sluggish to rise, as if a force was pressing against it. Was it water or gravity? Or was it his own body failing? 

He was asking too many questions. His mind was getting foggy. He was going to pass out again. 

Wind’s lips parted slightly, a natural movement. warm air dried out his mouth, but he could do nothing to moisten it. So he was on land. Somewhat. 

He saw light beyond his eyelids - warm and golden, soft and welcoming. Wind felt it on his skin, freckling it and soothing him. It was warm on his shoulders, his cheeks, his neck. Still he could not move. 

Wind tried one last time to open his eyes. He cracked them, just barely, enough to see his blurry eyelashes and for his eyes to fill with water. 

An enormous blue sky was all he saw, dotted with puffballs of clouds. A gentle wind stirred his eyelashes, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut again. His head began to pound. 

So he was alive. _That was nice._

Wind fell asleep once more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyyyyyy 🧍♀️👩🦯
> 
> bitches be like “i can’t write this one section i’m going to procrastinate for 5 months on it” and then finish it in 10 minutes. that’s me. I’m Bitches
> 
> anyways it’s the five month hiatus for me. how long until the next update? who knows. i am an enigma. untamed

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very short prologue, but chapter one should be posted tonight! <3


End file.
